Break Up With The Devil

When you become a Christian, “you break up with the devil, you give him back his stuff, and you quit hanging out with him and his friends.” (Dean Odle)

A good, strong picture of the level of repentance we ought to have in forsaking everything to follow Jesus. No longer are we to be tied to this world-system governed by Satan, no longer are we to live to please the flesh (doing all the things /we/ want to do), but instead we are to offer all that we are (spirit, soul, and body) to Jesus in worship and reverent service, trusting /Him/ to meet our every need.

A well-known, but simple and fitting verse that speaks to this end is Romans 12:1-2:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

As Jesus simply put it, “In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.” (Luke 14:33)

Speaking to being either a child of the devil or a child of God, John writes:

“Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.” (1 John 3:7-10)

So, let us /no longer/ walk in the ways of the devil, partnering with those who live lives of darkness and sin; but rather, let’s make sure to “break up with the devil, give him back his stuff, and quit hanging out with him and his friends.” (Dean Odle)